 Alex Macheras |
Cathay Pacific, United, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, and Swiss International Air Lines are already trialling the “CommonPass” digital health pass.
CommonPass lets individuals access their lab results and vaccination records, and consent to have that information used to validate their Covid status without revealing any other underlying personal health information. Lab results and vaccination records can be accessed through existing health data systems, national or local registries or personal digital health records.
“Individual national responses will not be sufficient to address this global crisis. Bans, bubbles and quarantines may provide short term protection, but developed and developing nations alike need a long-term, flexible and risk-based approach like CommonPass,” says Christoph Wolff, Head of Mobility, World Economic Forum.
The Airport Council International (ACI) World, representing nearly 2,000 airports globally (including most major international hubs in the US and abroad), has also joined the CommonTrust Network – the collection of entities that have agreed to recognise and work with CommonPass.
In October, the CommonPass was successfully trailed on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Hong Kong to Singapore and on an United flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Passengers were able to download the app, upload their Covid-19 test information to it, and have the health data be scanned upon arrival.
“As the world works to overcome the pandemic, all countries face the challenge of how to reopen borders for travel and commerce while protecting their populations’ health,” ACI World director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira said in a statement. “Key to this will be a globally harmonised approach underpinned by cooperation and consistency between all players in the aviation industry.”
The aviation industry is hopeful that passenger testing can restart international travel but many governments, including the UK’s, have stuck to blunt measures such as self-isolation requirements for incoming passengers.
There is currently no international co-ordination of Covid-19 testing at airports or universal quarantine requirements, and the airline industry has long-been pushing for a joined-up international approach.
“Bans, bubbles and quarantines may provide short-term protection but developed and developing nations alike need a long-term, flexible, and risk-based approach” said Christoph Wolff, the World Economic Forum’s head of mobility.
The pass’s creators say it will also help deal with the problem of forged or copied test results.
“As it stands, travellers are presenting their test results on pieces of paper – or photos of paper – with no standard format, often in a language foreign to those inspecting them,” said Paul Meyer, chief executive of the Commons Project.
“United has consistently demonstrated its leadership in developing innovative solutions to help ensure a safer travel experience for our customers during these challenging times,” said Steve Morrissey, United’s Vice President, Regulatory and Policy. “Testing is a key component of a multi-layered approach to safely reopening travel. Trials with solutions like CommonPass are critical to demonstrate the potential for alternatives to blanket quarantine measures or travel restrictions. We will continue looking for opportunities to facilitate these valuable programs and re-open critical routes, such as those between the US and the UK.”
John Holland Kaye, CEO at Heathrow airport, said: “Heathrow has long called for a range of trials that will inform governments and future testing programmes. We look forward to reviewing the findings from today’s CommonPass pilot, using the learnings to support the recovery of an industry that provides so many jobs and economic opportunities globally. It is vital that the benefits of aviation take off again and where better to start than with a connection from Heathrow, into New York.
The Common Project is planning to roll out the CommonPass system in 15 more countries. They are working with major airlines and are planning to launch routes across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East by the end of the year.
However, critics of similar schemes point to concerns over the sensitivity and specificity of the tests in various countries amid fears over greater monitoring over people’s movements.
* The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
CommonPass lets individuals access their lab results and vaccination records, and consent to have that information used to validate their Covid status without revealing any other underlying personal health information. Lab results and vaccination records can be accessed through existing health data systems, national or local registries or personal digital health records.
“Individual national responses will not be sufficient to address this global crisis. Bans, bubbles and quarantines may provide short term protection, but developed and developing nations alike need a long-term, flexible and risk-based approach like CommonPass,” says Christoph Wolff, Head of Mobility, World Economic Forum.
The Airport Council International (ACI) World, representing nearly 2,000 airports globally (including most major international hubs in the US and abroad), has also joined the CommonTrust Network – the collection of entities that have agreed to recognise and work with CommonPass.
In October, the CommonPass was successfully trailed on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Hong Kong to Singapore and on an United flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Passengers were able to download the app, upload their Covid-19 test information to it, and have the health data be scanned upon arrival.
“As the world works to overcome the pandemic, all countries face the challenge of how to reopen borders for travel and commerce while protecting their populations’ health,” ACI World director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira said in a statement. “Key to this will be a globally harmonised approach underpinned by cooperation and consistency between all players in the aviation industry.”
The aviation industry is hopeful that passenger testing can restart international travel but many governments, including the UK’s, have stuck to blunt measures such as self-isolation requirements for incoming passengers.
There is currently no international co-ordination of Covid-19 testing at airports or universal quarantine requirements, and the airline industry has long-been pushing for a joined-up international approach.
“Bans, bubbles and quarantines may provide short-term protection but developed and developing nations alike need a long-term, flexible, and risk-based approach” said Christoph Wolff, the World Economic Forum’s head of mobility.
The pass’s creators say it will also help deal with the problem of forged or copied test results.
“As it stands, travellers are presenting their test results on pieces of paper – or photos of paper – with no standard format, often in a language foreign to those inspecting them,” said Paul Meyer, chief executive of the Commons Project.
“United has consistently demonstrated its leadership in developing innovative solutions to help ensure a safer travel experience for our customers during these challenging times,” said Steve Morrissey, United’s Vice President, Regulatory and Policy. “Testing is a key component of a multi-layered approach to safely reopening travel. Trials with solutions like CommonPass are critical to demonstrate the potential for alternatives to blanket quarantine measures or travel restrictions. We will continue looking for opportunities to facilitate these valuable programs and re-open critical routes, such as those between the US and the UK.”
John Holland Kaye, CEO at Heathrow airport, said: “Heathrow has long called for a range of trials that will inform governments and future testing programmes. We look forward to reviewing the findings from today’s CommonPass pilot, using the learnings to support the recovery of an industry that provides so many jobs and economic opportunities globally. It is vital that the benefits of aviation take off again and where better to start than with a connection from Heathrow, into New York.
The Common Project is planning to roll out the CommonPass system in 15 more countries. They are working with major airlines and are planning to launch routes across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East by the end of the year.
However, critics of similar schemes point to concerns over the sensitivity and specificity of the tests in various countries amid fears over greater monitoring over people’s movements.
* The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir
